Rube Goldberg Parenting
Image: Flickr/Jeff Kubina
I ran across this video by OK GO and it made me realize that this kind of “Rube Goldberg” experiment is a lot like parenting. How so? Let me count the ways…
1. Parenting is a series of simple tasks that we manage to make much more complicated than we need to.
2. One small action can have an enormous impact on our environment.
3. It is always EXTREMELY messy.
4. Many valuable items are destroyed in the process.
5. Despite all of the above things…It sure can be alot of fun.
But in a Rube Goldberg experiment like the ones the OK GO guys have set up, everything has to go just right in order for it to work. And that, thank goodness, is where the similarity ends. Parenting is about relationship, not destination. It is constantly learning and growing alongside your child so that when mistakes happen…and they do happen…you can respond to them in the best way possible.
One thought on “Rube Goldberg Parenting”
I was having a very bad day the day I first saw this video, and what struck me most profoundly were the lyrics. Especially as they relate to raising children: “let it go, this too shall pass” – it has become a harmonious mantra for me in difficult times.